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Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
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Tree House Escape!
Students participate in a role play in which they use simple machines to do the work of retrieving their sibling from a tree which lost its ladder. They investigate how work is accomplished when an object moves in the direction of the...
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China is Unique
Sixth graders study the culture of China by comparing it to that of the United States. They write all questions and notes in a journal. The students access the internet to obtain the information and internet sites are suggested in the...
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Reader Response
Fifth graders reflect upon different concepts of Language Arts while reading literature. In the novel Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt, the characters discover a spring of eternal youth. After reading the first several chapters of...
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Writing about Internal & External Conflicts in Lois Lowry's The Giver
Seventh graders examine the internal and external conflicts that Jonas faces in "The Giver" in an essay. Students use SMART Board and Inspiration to organize their ideas graphically before combining them into their paper.
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Good Health from the Ground Up
Students examine healthy food choices and the benefits of growing their own food for consumption. They read the story "Favorite Things" and illustrate 5 favorite things. Students discuss types of foods that are healthy choices and why it...
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Writing Process
Students read "The Great Kapok" and choose to agree or disagree with the main character's decision. They gather and organize details from multiple sources to defend their standpoints. They begin prewriting steps of process writing.
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George Orwell's 1984
Eleventh graders engage in a literature study that is concerned with the strengthening of reading comprehension skills while they practice using context clues to arrange meaning to the text. The total assessments for this unit includes...
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Put the Mountains on the Map
Students discuss what they know about the regions where snow leopards live. They observe the worksheets to see if they can identify any of the mountain ranges and then use atlases to check and complete the country identification worksheet.
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Why Are The Shore Birds Dying?
Learners engage in a field study of birds and how they are in danger harm due to environmental factors. They list different possible causes in a prediction activity. The observations are done while writing up data and connecting it to a...
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Physiological Adaptations
Students investigate the concepts of genetics and how it is tied to the variations found within different species and how it is tied to adaptations. They review the theory of evolution and factors found to help create variation. The...
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Scientists Write!
Students use a journal to record observations. They make notes about what research may be needed to answer questions that have come up in the field and sketch or make connections in the curriculum. They research bioinformatics and...
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Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators
Students explore why denominators need to match before adding (or subtracting) a fraction. They use unmarked fraction circles and marked fraction bars, to discover a method to add fractions with unlike denominators using equivalent...
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Population Density
Students examine world population density and population distribution. They create pie charts showing population distribution and analyze population patterns in the United States and major regions of the world. They identify...
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Legacy of Colonialism
Students explore the extent of colonialism from the early periods in the 1500's to the later years in the mid 1900's. They explain how colonization differed in regions around the world and examine the lasting effects on the colonized...
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The Membrane Potential
Give this summary of 16 pages of a text to your class to deepen understanding of cell permeability, diffusion, ions, and more. The handout portion includes vocabulary clarifications, detailed color diagrams, and important information;...
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In the Company of Wild Butterflies
Learners discover the life cycle of a butterfly and explain the different stages. For this exploratory lesson students watch a video and create insect art and they will get an opportunity to view live specimens of butterflies.
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Electricity and Magnetism: From Fun to Function
Fourth graders experiment with electricity and magnetism and build an electromagnetic motor. For this electromagnetism lesson, 4th graders use household objects to show electrostatics and magnets and compasses to show magnetism. They...
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Conductors and Insulators
Fifth graders explore conductors and insulators. In this science lesson, 5th graders act as electrons moving through a wire. Students break into groups representing conductors and insulators and explore how they work with electrons.
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Hardware Sort
Students classify various hardware items using the attributes of the objects. In this classification lesson, students group objects based on their attributes and explain their classification key.
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Fascinating Figures: The Middle East from the 20th Century to Present
Learners examine the leaders of the Middle East. In this Middle East lesson, students read biographies regarding featured twentieth century leaders of Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen. Learners...
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A House is a House for Me: Library Skills for Young Readers
Read Mary Ann Hoberman's book A House is a House for Me to introduce the idea that a library is a house for shelves of books. Young readers practice alphabetizing in the picture book (easy fiction) section of the library. They learn how...
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Library Skills: Biography
Biographies deserve special attention when training youngsters how to use the library because they are alphabetized by subject rather than by author. Guide children through the process of finding biographies over a two-visit series. On...
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Book Jacket Match: Practice with the Dewey Decimal Classification System
As a follow-up activity to being introduced to the Dewey Decimal Classification System, 3rd graders listen to poems from Jackie Mims Hopkins' book The Shelf Elf Helps Out and sort book jackets by category and call number.